The Selectboard has allocated $219,000 to repair the Chestnut Hill Reservoir, making the dormant water supply comply with state regulations.
The funds cover repairs to the dam and gatehouse and installing an overflow pipe based on a report from engineering consulting firm DuBois & King.
The dam has been out of compliance with state regulations for over two years.
On April 20, board members voted 4–1 in favor of repairing the Chestnut Hill Reservoir.
As a Catholic seminarian back in the early ’60s, I knew several young men who would later be accused of pedophilia. Some of them were loners, some gregarious; some were effeminate, some macho; some were eggheads, others jocks, some neither. They wore no scarlet letter alerting us to their...
“Jane” and her son lived together for many years. Her loneliness when he died was crushing. Jane's need for companionship was so great that when Brattleboro Area Hospice began providing her with a bereavement volunteer, it wasn't enough. Hour-long visits stretched into two or three hours. When the volunteer...
I don't know about you, but I'm a little worried about a lot of things lately. Now, worrying is in my genes; it goes along with Jewish guilt. But this is different. I'm not just worrying that my kids might disappear, never to be heard from again, or that a nuclear holocaust is imminent - although that one is creeping up on my list of concerns. I'm worried about stuff that I think everyone ought to be considering, at the...
Since the election, there has been a growing perception of deception on a massive scale. Just a year ago, despite the collapse of free-market capitalism, people seemed to be more upbeat, more ebullient. We all looked forward to an era of truth and meaningful government. In a year, that feeling has been almost totally crushed, as one after another the promises of a year ago have been discarded, tossed into the gutter. We all had such high hopes after the...
A state environmental official has encouraged residents, frustrated with odors and air quality from the Putney Paper Co.'s mill, to keep records of when the offensive odors linger over the town center. Many of the more than 20 people who attended an April 21 meeting with Philip Etter, environmental analyst with the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation live within miles of the Putney Paper Co. Inc.'s mill on Route 5. They complained to Etter of noxious odors from the plant,
What goes on behind the doors of Windham County Superior Court, the imposing 1825 Greek Revival structure on the Newfane green? The Vermont judiciary website describes the state's Superior Courts as “trial courts where civil matters such as breach of contract, eviction, foreclosure, personal injury, land disputes, medical malpractice and wrongful death cases are heard.” Appeals from the Probate Court are also heard in Superior Court. During two cases observed over five days of observation in April, juries heard charges...
The Selectboard has approved a new ordinance designed to ensure pedestrians passage on Brattleboro’s sidewalks and offer a simplified, enforceable permitting process for sandwich boards. “We’ve talked about this issue for two years or more. This ordinance is fair to pedestrians, and businesses, and is understandable,” said Selectboard member Martha O’Connor after the second reading of the new sidewalk ordinance April 20. According to Town Manager Barbara Sondag, the ordinance allows sandwich boards on sidewalks providing that pedestrians, wheelchairs, and...
What does it take to run a general store successfully? The owner of a successful enterprise in northwestern Vermont has recently shared his grocer-know-how with one organization in Windham County that will soon be in the business. “If you're not on the ball in this business, you'll be upside down real fast,” says Mike Comeau, who has assisted six general stores as an independent proprietor and consultant for the Preservation Trust of Vermont (PTOV). Comeau and Paul Bruhn from the...
The union representing the town’s employees has taken exception to a Selectboard member’s public criticism of several workers this winter, threatening legal action against the town if such actions continue. Bert Russo, New Hampshire and Vermont business agent for the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 98, cited recent “offensive” statements by Selectboard member Ann DiBernardo and asked for a formal apology on behalf of town employees. DiBernardo’s statements appeared in the March issue of The Commons in a story...
The rise of the New England Youth Theatre (NEYT) has been a dream fulfilled for those who have watched the theater go from rehearsing in a cramped basement space to its flashy new arts complex at 100 Flat Street. The effects of this theater seed planted by Steven Stearns in 1998 have enlivened the local arts community. The theater has also sowed new performing opportunities for youth near and far. The theater keeps close ties with all those involved...